What is intoxication? |

Causes and Symptoms

Intoxication is a type of substance-induced disorder described in the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders: DSM-5 (5th ed., 2013). Intoxication results from the consumption of substances such as alcohol, caffeine, marijuana, other illicit drugs, some mushrooms and other plants, and even some over-the-counter and prescription drugs.

Intoxication is diagnosed via identification of the substance in the body system and the observation of characteristic symptoms in the person affected. Specific substances do certain things to the body and therefore create certain symptoms. Tests of breath and/or urine samples are often used to detect intoxication. Additionally, simply watching the individual for psychological and behavioral signs or asking the individual to perform certain tasks can help with detection. Police officers who suspect alcohol intoxication, for instance, may ask individuals to try to walk a straight line or to close their eyes and try to stand up straight. Such tests allow the officers to observe the person’s balance and body sway. Loss of balance or significant body sway can indicate intoxication.

Each substance has specific symptoms associated with its intoxication state. Therefore, when testing someone for intoxication, different tests may be needed to determine whether any individual substance has been used.

Alcohol intoxication is marked by symptoms such as slurred speech, coordination problems, unsteady gait, nystagmus, impairments in memory or attention, and stupor. Nystagmus is an involuntary condition in which the eyes do not track the movement of objects smoothly. Stupor is a condition in which a person is in a daze and has numbed senses. With alcohol intoxication, stupor can escalate to coma. In addition to these symptoms, problematic behaviors may also manifest themselves, such as aggression, impaired judgment, mood problems, or problems interacting socially or at work.

Treatment and Therapy

Intoxication is usually short-lived, and once a substance has been processed out of the body, the effects dissipate. Treatment usually consists of a process called detoxification, often shortened to detox. This usually is done in emergency rooms or inpatient units in hospitals. Sometimes, however, it may be done in community settings where nonmedical models of intervention are practiced. In all these settings, symptoms are monitored closely as the person withdraws from the substance, as withdrawal can be dangerous. Withdrawal varies from drug to drug. It also varies depending on how long the person has used the substance and how much has been used. Severe withdrawal from certain substances, such as alcohol, and certain illicit drugs, such as heroin, can be lethal.

Perspective and Prospects

Intoxication for some substances is easier to identify than for others. Increasingly, methods are being developed to identify intoxication with greater ease via objective measures. For instance, technology to assess the iris of the eye to detect marijuana intoxication or the use of patches to detect substance use, such as with drugs that may be excreted in sweat, are two recent efforts.

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